Eternal Guilt
by Shinja1985
Summary: Sasuke finally defeats Itachi, but pays the ultimate price.  Will Sasuke come to terms with Sakura's death, or is he doomed to the path of guilt?


DISCLAIMER - This fic is an original fic and is no way involved with Masashi Kishimoto. Any events resembling this is pure coincidence.

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_"Word" _- Thoughts

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Konoha was a gigantic battlefield. Ninjas everywhere were fighting against the Sound ninjas. Akatsuki has been defeated, with Itachi as the last survivor. Kabuto, after performing some experiments and using forbidden jutsus, managed to resurrect Orochimaru, after Akatsuki's defeat. Apparently, after stating he wanted an existence of his own, he was still loyal to Orochimaru. Though Orochimaru and Kabuto fought ferociously, their combined strength was not enough to defeat Team 7. After Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi defeated resurrected Orochimaru and Kabuto, they quickly head to the Uchiha estate, where Sasuke and Itachi fought in their final battle. There was no telling who was winning, due to the fact that they hailed from the most powerful clan of Konoha.

"Kakashi-sensei, how much futher until we get there?"

"It's not too far, Naruto. But we'll have to make a few detours to get there, since the quickest route has been blocked off."

"But there's no time to take the detours. Itachi might've overpowered Sasuke by now. We're not going to make it in time if we delay any further."

"Calm down, Naruto. Sasuke won't go down easily. I hate to admit this, but because of his training with Orochimaru, he may be Itachi's equal. Sasuke can take care of himself in the meantime. For now, we have to take other routes. Don't worry, Naruto. We'll save Sasuke. I promise."

"_Sasuke-kun, please don't die. There's so much I want to tell you._"

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Meanwhile, the Uchiha brothers began fighting on their home ground, near the place where it all began. Home. Sasuke's and Itachi's swords clashed against each other. Due to their expertise of their Sharingans, they managed to predict each other's movements. This led to a stalemate against the rivalling Uchiha prodigies.

"You'll pay for everything you've done to me, Itachi!" Sasuke continued to clash his sword against Itachi, who began defending against Sasuke's constant sword slashes. "You took away my father!! You took away my mother!! But worst of all, you took away my dreams!!" Sasuke pushed his sword against Itachi's, leaving Itachi defenseless and giving Sasuke the chance to land the first punch to the face of his elder brother.

Itachi tumbled back a little, until he regained his balance. "You forget, Sasuke. They are also my parents, as well."

"No! You don't deserve to call them your parents! You turned your back on them, ever since you began acting suspicious about Shishui's death! You have no love for anyone but yourself!" Sasuke's rage knew no limits. He began using his lightning elements against Itachi, forming them into needles.

Itachi easily dodged every needle that he threw against. Next, Sasuke charged his sword with lightning, trying to strike against his elder brother. Itachi smirked at the sight of his younger brother's eyes, as he dodged his attacks, left and right. They had hatred inside them. It was pure hatred, that he encouraged his brother to have. It was no wonder why they were fighting on equal grounds.

Sasuke tried to slash downward against Itachi, who happened to move out of the way in time to deliver a solid kick to the face. Sasuke flew back against the wall of their house. Itachi was about to move in for the kill, but out of nowhere, four ninjas appeared and blocked off his path.

"That's as far as you go, Itachi."

"Kakashi-san, you never give up, do you?"

Sakura ran to Sasuke's side to check for any injuries. "Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke pushed Sakura aside, clearly upset that his former Team 7 were trying to interfere with his destined battle. "What are you guys doing here!? Stay out of this!"

"Forget it, Sasuke. If you're going to defeat Itachi, then we'll help you defeat him. Whether you like it or not." Naruto produced two clones to prepare his ultimate technique.

"This has nothing to do with you. This is my fight. He's the reason why I betrayed all of you! I told you before, Naruto, I'm the only one who's going to defeat him!"

"Sasuke-kun, I understand your reasons for wanting to kill your brother, but he's too powerful for you to handle alone. We have to work together to beat him." Sai drew his sword, prepared to do battle against the Uchiha prodigy.

"Then you leave me no choice." Sasuke's body began to charge with electricity, and before anyone could react to it, Sasuke threw his arms out, spreading electricity in a large radius, enough to affect Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi. Electricity was everywhere, blocking Itachi's view from all of them. Afterwards, he saw Team 7 on the ground, groaning in pain. All four of them could hardly move, due to the numbing effects of his Chidori Nagashi. "This is my battle. I'll finish it myself. Don't interfere."

"I was afraid they'd interfere in our unfinished battle, Sasuke."

"Let's finish this, Itachi. If I'm going to die here, then I'm taking you with me." With a strong hint of determination from Sasuke, his cursed seal began to engulf his body, giving him hand-like wings.

"So, you've sold your soul to the devil, just to hunt me down. The form suits you, Sasuke. You're almost like the son of the devil." Itachi's eyes began to form into his signature doujutsu, the Mangekyou Sharingan.

His eyes managed to get in contact with Sasuke's eyes. However, Itachi realized that the Sasuke in front of him was a clone. The real Sasuke appeared right behind him, charging at him with Chidori. Upon impact, Sasuke discovered that it was a clone, as well. It was a mud clone, which hardened itself kept Sasuke from escaping from the trap.

Sakura used her medical jutsu to heal the numbing effect from her body. She saw Sasuke trapped in the clone, leaving him helpless as she saw the real Itachi appear behind him, with a Chidori of his own. Compared to Sasuke's, Itachi's charging speed was too fast. Sasuke's wouldn't have a chance to defend against the jutsu. Not wanting to see Sasuke hurt, Sakura charged towards the two brothers.

Itachi's Chidori charged hand thrust forth Sasuke, who flinched on the attack. However, there wasn't any pain. Sasuke cracked open an eye to see what happened. Unfortunately, to his horror, he witnessed something he never thought he'd ever see. Sakura took the Chidori to her chest. Sakura turned to see Sasuke with a shocked expression on his face. Blood trickled down her mouth.

"Are...you okay...Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura..."

Itachi removed his hand forcefully from her body, causing Sakura to cough out blood. Seeing Sakura collapse was the last straw. Sasuke became enraged and used his unnatural strength to break free from the clone. Sasuke threw a punch at his elder brother to his face. Another punch to the face, sending the elder brother spinning in a circle. The young Uchiha then delivered two solid punches to his sternum, effectively break it. Lastly, Sasuke threw a mean punch to Itachi's face, sending him into a wall, creating a crater. Before Itachi had time to recover, Sasuke took his chidori charged katana and stabbed Itachi right in the heart. Itachi's body twitched in pain, until his body became motionless.

Sasuke's cursed seal form receded itself, and Sasuke ran towards Sakura's limp body. He gently picked up her wounded body and cradled her in his arms. "Sakura, are you okay?"

"S-Sasuke-kun...you're...all right..."

"Sakura, why did you protect me!? Why did you sacrifice your life, just to save me!? This wasn't supposed to happen..."

"Because...I still care about...you, Sasuke-kun... Even...after you...ran away...I never stopped...caring about you... I promised...that no matter what...I would protect Naruto...and you..."

Tears were forming in Sasuke's eyes for the first time. "Sakura, I ran away from Konoha, because I didn't want to involve any of you. You included. Ever since, you told me how much you loved me...I felt relieved, because...that was the first time in years...that I've ever been loved..."

Team 7 finally got up from the ground, and saw Itachi's corpse clinged to the wall. Next to them, they also saw Sasuke carrying the young medical ninja's wounded body.

"Sasuke-kun...I'm glad...that you feel...the same way...I do..."

"This never would've happened...if I didn't leave Konoha... If I stayed in Konoha, and trained more, this never...would've happened..."

Sakura weakly reached up to Sasuke's face and wiped away his tears. Upon feeling her touch, Sasuke gently grasped her hands, and gazed deep into her eyes.

"Don't...blame yourself...Sasuke-kun... You're...not...the type...to beat...yourself...up..." Sakura smiled weakly. "Sasuke-kun...I love you..." Sakura's eyes closed slowly and her head fell back. Sakura's grip even loosened up in Sasuke's hands. Sasuke realized what happened, and this shocked him even more.

"SAKURA!!"

Sasuke was at a loss for words. Those same words he heard from Sakura were the same ones he heard when he departed. This time, with those same words, it was Sakura who departed this time. Not only did he lose his family in the same place, he also lost someone precious to him, in the same place. Rain began to pour over Konoha, as Sasuke sobbed closely to Sakura's motionless body. Finally, Sasuke threw his head back and screamed out in grief over the loss of someone important to him.

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**This sucks, I know. I'm not that good. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to view this. More to come soon...**


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